Fire Services Exercises on the dock

The Duke of Lancaster

On August 10th, 1979, a former Sealink passenger ferry called “The Duke of Lancaster" was beached at Llanerch-y-Mor in North Wales with the intention of turning it into a floating leisure and retail complex called The Fun Ship.

The project never achieved it’s full potential due to many long running legal disputes with the local council.

Make no bones about it, until it was converted into a car ferry she was one of the finest vessels afloat at the time.
The first class quarters in the late fifties and early sixties were the best around, silver service restaurants, state rooms and luxurious cabins.

In fact, the facilities and the accommodation on board Lancaster were so good she was frequently taken out of her usual ferry service and used as a cruise liner with frequent annual cruises around Scotland, Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.